Changes to VA shorthaul Asian flying

As expected by a lot of people Virgin Australia has today announced it will withdraw from the Perth - Phuket route and hand its Perth/Melbourne/Adelaide - Bali routes to subsidiary Tigerair.

Tigerair will take over the Bali flights from March, with the Phuket route being dropped from February.

Regulatory approval is still begin sought for Tigerair to operate a fleet of 3 all economy Boeing 737-800s on the Bali flights.  Tigerair has until now been an all A320 operator.

Virgin will redirect its capacity from these routes to an increase on Sydney/Melbourne - Christchurch as well as seasonal capacity increases on flights to Fiji and the Solomon Islands.  Virgin reduced its capacity into Christchurch as a result of the effect on passenger numbers from the Christchurch earthquakes.

These changes come on the back of the annual profit announcement from Virgin which was a bottom line net loss of $94M AUD.  It is expected that these changes along with a $1b cost saving program will return the airline to profitability in the near future.

Read more about the changes to these services via the Brisbane Times HERE

Qantas set for return on PER-SIN

Qantas will return to the PER-SIN route, this time with a 737-800 service.

Flights will resume on Friday 26-June-2015 which will be just over a year since they axed their former PER-SIN A330 service.

QF71 will depart PER at 12:00AWST arriving into SIN at 17:20SGT then QF72 departs SIN at 18:25SGT landing back in PER at 23:40AWST

Flights will operate 5x Weekly We,Fr, Sa-Mo

JQs week of 1sts

Jetstar launched a raft of inaugural flights this week.

On Sunday 29-March-2015 Cairns welcomed Jetstar's newest international route CNS-DPS-CNS with A320 VH-VFQ operating the inaugural JQ90/91 service.

Gold Coast also saw a new service on Sunday 29-March-2015 with JQ982/983 OOL-PER-OOL departing.  The inaugural service was operated by A320 VH-VFD

On Monday 30-March-2015 the new JQ164/165 MEL-WLG-MEL service departed Melbourne at the delightful red-eye hour of 00:45 with A320 VH-VQR the lucky aircraft.

On Tuesday 31-March-2015 the new JQ125/124 OOL-NAN-OOL service departed Gold Coast with A320 VH-VFJ operating the inaugural return service.

What is Nyepi Day? And why are there no flights?

Today is Nyepi the Balinese 'Day of Silence' which is celebrated as part of Isakawarsa with tomorrow being Balinese New Years Day.  Although a Hindu festival, Nyepi is observed by all in Bali, a description of it follows

Observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection, and as such, anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted. The main restrictions are no lighting fires (and lights must be kept low); no working; no entertainment or pleasure; no traveling; and, for some, no talking or eating at all. The effect of these prohibitions is that Bali's usually bustling streets and roads are empty, there is little or no noise from TVs and radios, and few signs of activity are seen even inside homes. The only people to be seen outdoors are the Pecalang, traditional security men who patrol the streets to ensure the prohibitions are being followed.  Although Nyepi is primarily a Hindu holiday, non-Hindu residents of Bali observe the day of silence as well, out of respect for their fellow citizens. Even tourists are not exempt; although free to do as they wish inside their hotels, no one is allowed onto the beaches or streets, and the only airport in Bali remains closed for the entire day. The only exceptions granted are for emergency vehicles carrying those with life-threatening conditions and women about to give birth.

This effects the following flights to/from Australia today/tomorrow morning

KEY:

JQ - Jetstar

VA - Virgin Australia

GA - Garuda Indonesia

QZ - Indonesia AirAsia

320 - Airbus A320

73H - Boeing 737-8FE(W)

333 - Airbus A330-300

332 - Airbus A330-200

100 - Fokker F100

788 - Boeing 787-8

Qantas route announcements

Qantas have made a few route announcements in the last coupe of weeks and look set to make at least one more - here is a round up.

BNE-NRT

As mentioned in my news round up vlog post in December last year, Qantas announced they would introduce a 4x weekly A330 service on the Brisbane to Tokyo Narita route and were looking to add another port to fill the remaining 3x weekly slots.  Qantas have now announced that the BNE-NRT flight will operate daily.

MEL-HTI

Qantas have announced that from Saturday 27-June-2015 they will take over the Melbourne to Hamilton Island service from Jetstar, offering passengers a premium service on this route. QF870/871 will operate on Saturdays and Sundays with a Boeing 737-800.

MEL-PPP

With Qantas taking over their Hamilton Island service, Jetstar have announced a new 3x weekly Melbourne - Proserpine (Whitsunday Coast)  The first flight will be on Thursday 25-June-2015 with JQ831/832 operating Th-Sa-Mo utilising Jetstar's Airbus A320 aircraft.

SYD-YVR

Qantas have announced a return to the Sydney - Vancouver route with a seasonal 3x weekly Boeing 747-400 service.  Services will operate during the northern summer in June-July and again in the northern winter December-January.  QF75/76 will operate on Mo-Th-Sa

PER-SIN

While not yet officially announced Qantas are set to return to the Perth - Singapore route with a daily Boeing 737-800 service.  Qantas last served this route in July 2104 with A330 equipment.  Timetables show the new flights, QF71/72, are set to depart from Saturday 13-June-2014


Read more about these services:

BNE-NRT/MEL-HTI/MEL-PPP via Qantas Media Release HERE
SYD-YVR via Qantas Media Release HERE
PER-SIN via airlineroute.net HERE

Sad & Beautiful

THE SAD

Air New Zealand has lost one of its first female captains to a suspected brain aneurism shortly after she landed NZ175 a Boeing 787-9 in Perth.

Captain Ann Barbarich a 27 year veteran with the airline, was well respected in the Air New Zealand and New Zealand Aviation communities.

She was part of a four man flight crew on board the flight, and made a textbook landing before becoming unwell.  She was initially treated by doctors on board before being rushed to Perth hospital.

The thoughts of this blog are with her family and colleagues after this terrible event.

Read about Captain Barbarich via The New Zealand Herald HERE or stuff.co.nz HERE

THE BEAUTIFUL

The New Zealand Herald have also run an article this week on the interior refits of the Air New Zealand Boeing 777-219 fleet.  The article and video mentions and shows the second of the aircraft to undergo the upgrade ZK-OKE.

Business Premier refit of ZK-OKE - photo © New Zealand Herald

Read the story and watch the video HERE

NZ announce first 789 route

Perth is the winner with Air New Zealand announcing its first route with the Boeing 787-9 will be AKL-PER in October next year.

Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon made the announcement at the official opening of the airline’s Customer Innovation and Collaboration Centre in Auckland today. A feature of the centre is the only Boeing 787-9 full cabin interior outside the factory in Seattle.

The cabin mock-up has outlined how Air New Zealand will outfit its interior with 302 seats in a 3 class layout.  18 lie flat Business Premier seats, 21 Premium Economy seats and 263 economy seats.  All seats feature a new entertainment system which is slimmer and has a higher resolution than that on the 773.

'We've taken advantage of new inflight entertainment hardware and that's allowed us to introduce new monitors and also allowed us to slim down the back of the seat considerably from those which have had inflight entertainment. (in the past) That allows much more personal space."

Air New Zealand program director Kerry Reeves with in flight service manager Priyanka Girish
Photo / Dean Purcell /nzherald

Read more on the new 789 cabin and the first flights to PER at Air New Zealand's Flying Social Network HERE or the nzherald HERE

QF trans-tasman changes

As part of their alliance with Emirates, Qantas have announced changes to their trans-tasman services opening up the international network to New Zealand travellers.

All changes will come into effect from 27-October-2013

The biggest announcement is the introduction of twice weekly Perth-Auckland flights for the December - January  period.

The new Auckland-Perth service will operate during the holiday season with a twice-weekly A330 service from early December this year through to 1 February 2014.

As stated these flights will operate with an international configured Airbus A330 which gives Business travelers the option of lie flat seats which will be useful on the overnight PER-AKL leg.
This service will operate as QF111 PER-AKL 20:30-07:50* and QF112 AKL-PER 11:40-14:05

The announcement will also see a lot of the existing QF4* codes replaces by new QF13*/14*/15* codes.

Christchurch currently sees QF45/46 operare SYD-CHC-SYD during the day, this will be changed to operate as QF139 SYD-CHC in the evening with a 23:55 arrival and the return will now operate as QF138 CHC-SYD with an 07:30 departure, opening up connecting international flights out of SYD.

The only QF service not to see a timetable change is QF38 MEL-WLG which will become QF172 all other services see a timetable change of around 30 minutes

A full list of the flight number changes is

Read more from the official Qantas Press Release HERE and the NZ Heralds article on the new Perth service HERE

NZ 789 routes

On their blog (theflyingsocailnetwork) Air New Zealand have announced the routes and seating for their new Boeing 787-9's

Air New Zealand is the launch customer for the 787-9, the first of which is due to roll off the production line at Boeing in Seattle next month. Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon says the 787-9 is a game changer for the airline.

As expected they will predominantly replace the Boeing 767-319s on Shanghai, Papeete and Honolulu, but they will also replace the Boeing 777-219 on Tokyo and Perth.

The interior will feature almost 4 tiers of seating with Business, Premium Economy which will be known as business-lite, 16 rows of skycouch then economy.

• In the Premium Economy cabin the airline has worked with US seat designer Zodiac on a customised seat best described as Business-lite. This comfortable ink coloured luxury leather seat will have a 41” pitch, a generous 5” wide armrest and a leg rest and extendable foot support which will allow passengers to really stretch out and relax.

Read more about the new seating arrangements on theflyingsocialnetwork HERE

JQ 787 just 5 months from service

Jetstar have sparked a flurry of excitement from local spotters in Cairns, Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne & Sydney by announcing their new fleet of 787 aircraft will debut on domestic services in November before heading into international operations in December.

Qantas’ low-cost offshoot, which takes delivery of Australia’s first 787 in late September, says that popular domestic routes from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to the Gold Coast and Cairns “are currently being considered”.

Interestingly enough with the exception of Perth these are the destinations that JQ fly their international A330 services from, and the ports that will see the 787's when they transition over to the international routes.

Read more on the Jetstar route announcement from David Flynn at ausbt.com.au HERE

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Jetstar have also announced the seating layout of their new birds with 21 business class seats in a 2-3-2 layout, while 314 economy seats will be laid out 3-3-3 giving an all up load of 335 passengers.

The seat pitch will be comparable to Jetstar’s current A330 fleet – around 38 inches in business class and 31 inches in economy –  says  Jetstar’s 787 director Mark Dal Pra.

Read more on the seating plans including inseat USB power, and gate-to-gate IFE at ausbt.com.au HERE 

NZ/VA announce CHC-PER trial

To celebrate the official opening of the new terminal at Christchurch, Air New Zealand in conjunction with alliance partners Virgin Australia will launch a 21 week trial on the CHC-PER route with a twice weekly Boeing 767-319ER service.

The Air New Zealand flights will operate twice a week from December 3 to April 26, and if they prove popular, they will become permanent.
Christchurch Airport CEO Jim Boult says that's more than 19-thousand seats over 21 weeks and an outstanding boost for Christchurch and the South Island.

The official Christchurch International Airport press release also says CHC will benefit from B763 services on the SYD route which points to the 763 operating a AKL-SYD-CHC-PER-CHC-SYD-AKL routing.

Check out the offical CIAL press release HERE or the Christchurch Press article HERE

QF upgrade some trans continental routes

As reported back in November (HERE) Qantas are moving all weekday MEL-PER & SYD-PER flights to A330.  They have now announced that they will fast track the all A330 introduction on their SYD-PER flights to April, while at the same time changing weekday flights on BNE-PER to all B763.

This is great news for travellers as it means the end to narrow body jets on these trans-continental flights, at least on weekdays when travelling on QF (unless your unlucky enough to get a QF code share on JQ metal)

"We will now have wide-body aircraft on all weekday flights between the eastern states and Western Australia," says Qantas Domestic CEO Lyall Strambi. That's a change from the mix of wide-bodies (with two aisles) and Boeing 737s (with one aisle) currently used.

I suspect flights from ADL-PER will still operate with B738s as will flights to DRW & CBR so the B738 fleet can still be rotated through WA.

Read more about the end to narrow body trans-con flights from Australian Business Traveller HERE

Domestic transcontinental flights

Normally when people think trans continental flights they think of LAX-JFK or similar in the USA, but Australia has its own transcontinental services between the three big east coast cities BNE, SYD & MEL and PER on the west coast.

Qantas have just taken delivery of their final Airbus A330-200 VH-EBV 'Kangaroo Island' which sports One World alliance titles, which they will operate on the domestic transcontinental flights.

Photo from Qantas Facebook page

Along with this delivery Qantas have announced that from May 2013 all week day flights on the MEL-PER-MEL & SYD-PER-SYD routes will be operated by A330-200 aircraft.  A move which has been in part to combat rival Virgin Australia who already operate their A330 fleet on all MEL-PER routes and next year also on all SYD-PER flights, these currently operate as a mix of A330 & B738 flights.

Qantas will also take delivery next year of the A332 fleet that is currently utilised by Jetstar, when Jetstar begin to take delivery of their new Boeing 787 fleet.

I hope that once these aircraft are received that all Brisbane-Perth flights will also go to all A332, (currently a mix of A332/B763/B738) but hopefully the change to A332 flights from SYD/MEL will mean all BNE-PER will be at least B763.

Read more about these services and the Qantas A332 fleets via Australian Business Traveler HERE or Australian Aviation HERE